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ADVICE FROM YOUR
LOCAL DOC
&
23
The Importance of Vaccinating Your Child
By Dr. Susan
Monohan, Family
Practice Associates
of Lexington,
P.S.C.
A measles outbreak at Disneyland.
A resurgence of whooping cough in
Kentucky. Both examples of diseases
that could have easily been prevented.
In the last century, modern medicine has come forward in leaps and
bounds. Thanks to the widespread
availability of vaccines, doctors have
been able to completely eradicate
some diseases, while reducing others to the occasional rare incidence.
In 1980, smallpox was declared
eradicated following a worldwide
vaccination program. Thanks to vaccination, polio has been eliminated
as a threat in developed countries
like the United States, but continues
to spread in under developed countries. Measles, mumps, and chickenpox are just a few of the serious
diseases that can now be prevented
with a simple course of childhood
vaccinations.
Unfortunately, there has been a
move to discourage parents from
vaccinating their children, fueled by
now discredited study and celebrity
opinions. Some parents wonder why
they need to bother vaccinating their
child; after all, they often had the
same disease when they were children
and they were fine. What they are
often unaware of are the potential
complications from many of these
diseases, complications which far outweigh any risk from the vaccine.
For some, measles is simply an
unpleasant rash and fever that can last
a few days or longer. However, it also
carries potentially deadly risks. As
many as one fifth of those who catch
measles can develop pneumonia and
other serious infections. If not caught
and treated in time, those infections
can lead to inflammation of the brain,
and even death. Measles is highly
contagious, as the recent outbreak
in a public amusement park demonstrated, and can be spread simply by
breathing or coughing. It is so contagious, that an estimated 90 percent
of people who are not vaccinated will
contract it if they come into contact
with a measles sufferer. The disease
had once been almost eradicated in
the US and could be again, as long as
those at risk are vaccinated. So far in
2015, over 100 cases of measles has
been confirmed in the US.
Pertussis or whooping cough is
another highly contagious respiratory
disease, leading to extreme bouts of
coughing and difficulty breathing.
It is most common in infants and
young children, and can prove fatal.
Of those infants under one year of
age who catch pertussis, half require
hospitalization. Almost one quarter
will develop pneumonia. Other risks
include convulsions, swelling of the
brain, and death. Being up-to-date
with pertussis vaccines is especially
important for families with and caregivers of new infants.
Your family physician or pediatrician can discuss the recommended
immunization schedule for your
child. Parent friendly 2015 vaccine
schedules can be found at the cdc
website.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/
parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch0-6yrs.pdf and http://www.cdc.gov/
vaccines/who/teens/downloads/
parent-version-schedule-7-18yrs.pdf.
Diseases covered by immunization
include measles, pertussis, mumps,
tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and others. If your child is older but was not
vaccinated as an infant, your doctor
can advise on a “catch-up schedule”
to ensure your child is fully protected.
Later, as your child nears their teens,
you should also discuss the HPV
virus with your doctor. This can prevent certain types of cancers.
Talk to your doctor today about
vaccinating your children. Your
doctor can put to rest any fears and
concerns your may have, and help to
ensure that these potentially deadly
diseases are, once more, relegated to
the past.
To view a map detailing the various health outbreaks worldwide that
could have been prevented by vaccines, visit: http://www.cfr.org/interactives/GH_Vaccine_Map/#map.
For more information about vaccinations, visit the American Academy
of Pediatrics at http://www2.aap.
org/immunization/.